Article by
As we move into July, the big striped bass of spring are a memory and most anglers are targeting other fish species. Striped bass may be around, but it is not that common to catch striped bass bigger than the 28-inch minimum size in Delaware waters during the heat of the summer. But all is not lost for the dedicated striped bass angler wanting to catch some keepers as Delaware has a special summer striped bass season during July and August that can provide both striped bass fishing excitement along with some fillets for great grilling.
Delaware’s summer slot striped bass season begins on July 1 and ends on August 31. This summers slot season is only open in the Delaware River, Delaware Bay and the tidal tributaries of the bay and river. During this season, the daily limit is two striped bass between 20 and 26 inches long. The striped bass size limit remains at 28 inches year round in Delaware waters other than in these locations.
Delaware’s push for a summer slot season began several years ago as more and more anglers told the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife (DDFW) that they were catching plenty of undersized striped bass in the Delaware River, Delaware Bay and their tidal tributaries during July and August, and were wondering if there was any way the size limit could be reduced during the heat of the summer.
DDFW began to investigate the possibility of creating a summer fishery for smaller striped bass. DDFW had demonstrated to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) back in 1998 that the Delaware River was a striped bass production area. In addition to proving that the Delaware was one of the major striped bass spawning areas, responsible for producing 5 to 10 percent of the Atlantic migratory population, DDFW found that there was a significant resident striped bass population in the Delaware. An interesting aspect of these resident striped bass was their sex; they were almost all males. DDFW proposed opening a summer slot season to ASMFC that would target these resident, mature male striped bass.
Mature male striped bass are usually smaller than mature female striped bass and mature resident male striped bass are usually smaller than migratory male striped bass. The slot size limit would help ensure that only resident male striped bass were taken during this season. The evidence that DDFW presented to ASMFC convincingly demonstrated that this resident population of male striped bass could support a limited summer recreational fishery with no negative effects to the overall striped bass population. Delaware’s summer slot season was approved by ASMFC in 2008 and the summer slot season began in 2009.
The summer slot season has not been as big an attraction as DDFW thought it would be when it was introduced in 2009. The stock of resident striped bass had apparently peaked in the years prior to the opening of the summer slot season and the action during the summer slot seasons during the past three years has been spotty. However, many anglers have reported good catches of slot-sized striped bass at a wide range of locations. Some of the hot spots reported are up in Delaware River around Reedy Island, tidal tributaries in Kent County such as the area around Woodland Beach, and the Outer Wall in lower Delaware Bay. While fresh chunk bunker was the bait of choice in the Delaware River and tidal tributary spots, live spot was the preferred bait for catching slot stripers in lower Delaware Bay.
The presence of this population of resident male striped bass in the Delaware River, Delaware Bay and their tidal tributaries is yet another example of how the more we learn about striped bass, the harder time we have generalizing striped bass life history. Although most striped bass join the great migratory schools that move up the Atlantic coast during the summer, back down the coast in the fall and winter, and then up into the spawning areas in the spring, there are entire populations of striped bass that do not migrate very far, if at all.
The Chesapeake Bay is the source of more than half of the Atlantic coastal migratory striped bass population, but the Chesapeake is also home to a large resident striped bass population that rarely leaves the bay. Striped bass have also formed self-sustaining populations in large lakes and reservoirs across the country. Thus, finding a resident population of striped bass in the Delaware is not unusual, but the overwhelming predominance of male striped bass in this resident population is unusual. The resident male striped bass that DDFW has sampled over the past three seasons have been small for their age compared to migratory male striped bass. Oddly enough, many of the resident male striped bass caught during the summer slot season have been underweight for their length.
The Delaware River, Delaware Bay and their tidal tributaries are at their most productive during the summer and there seems to be plentiful forage for the resident male striped bass, yet these striped bass are not eating enough. Perhaps the high temperatures and low dissolved oxygen levels during summer stress the striped bass and reduce their feeding rates.
DDFW put tracking tags in ten resident male striped bass in the spring of 2010. These tags emit a signal that is picked up by recorders that DDFW and other agencies have placed throughout the Delaware River, Delaware Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. Several of the tagged striped were tracked for months. Two of the tracked males never went further downstream than the C&D Canal. These two did move upstream of Philadelphia for a period, but mostly remained between Pea Patch Island and the Commodore Barry Bridge. Two other tracked males did much more moving around. One of them went as far down the bay as Cross Ledge Lighthouse, while the other was picked up by recorders off of Cape Henlopen during the fall. Both of them were back up in the river by the following spring. This tracking project showed that there was much variation in movements even among these resident male striped bass.
Enjoy the summer slot striped bass season and hope to see your catch in the Coastal Fisherman.
